Fleck ‘frustrated’ by Reds getting away with ‘cheap shots’
The Stormers were on the receiving end of quite a few nasty late hits that were missed (or ignored) by referee Marius van der Westhuizen.
The Stormers were on the receiving end of some nasty hits. (Photo by Thinus Maritz/Gallo Images)
Even if the scoreline was uncomfortably narrow, the Stormers could claim that they probably deserved their win over the Reds purely on moral grounds.
Coach Robbie Fleck bemoaned various high and at times vicious hits that were missed by referee Marius van der Westhuizen, who’s increasingly under pressure for his inconsistent judgement.
One particularly nasty incident was Reds prop Taniela Tupou’s late shoulder charge on winger Craig Barry.
“I’m pretty frustrated about that. There were a couple of cheap shots early on in the game that were not recognised and dealt with,” said Fleck after the 25-19 victory at Newlands.
“We spoke about it during the week and know that they are a robust team.”
The Stormers mentor stated he could point out at least three other major incidents.
“There are four incidents that come to mind that were not dealt with. Credit to our players for showing good composure. I thought we could get more reward out of that. But it is something we will look at on Monday,” he said.
Fleck though isn’t going to delve into further official channels to raise awareness over Van der Westhuizen’s officiating.
“I have to let the match referee sort that stuff out. In the 80 minutes, that is something for Marius to sort out,” he said.
“My message to the players was that there is certainly going to be some of that (incidents) and I’m happy that we held our composure.”
Tupou was retrospectively cited for his offence.
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